Oliver didn't get the message about the rescheduling of our Reunion ride to last week, but he turned up today as promised for an excellent moorland ride to Dartmeet. As we rode there only a couple of weeks ago we decided to take ride the usual route in reverse, climbing Hembury Hill and then dropping down to New Bridge. John had to get back for 1pm so he left us at the Holne turnoff.

Google had come up with a new route along a lane past Hannaford Farm that none of us knew existed, so we couldn't resist giving it a try. It was strange to discover a new route so close to home, and it turned out to be a much easier and quieter ride than the main road, boasting cattle roaming free, delightful country houses and some fabulous views over the Dart valley.

Once we had negotiated the steep climb through Poundsgate we were soon descending Dartmeet Hill to Badgers Holt where Oliver left us to join his family for a lunch. Gavin pressed on home for lunch while the rest of us tried Brimpts Farm café. There was no savoury food here and a limited range of cakes and drinks, but the filter coffee and cakes were quite good value and provided us with a welcome break.

Setting off again at 1.25 we rode through Hexworthy and up Combestone hill, passing a friendly cow and calves halfway up. The descent through Venford and Holne to Scoriton was then rapid and enjoyable. Leo's owner, who was outside at Scoriton, told us Leo had been busy all morning but she brought him out for us to give him our usual greeting before we headed on homewards for 2.30.

With John away today seemed like the perfect opportunity for some serious off-road, so the Avon Dam was selected in record time. We were all feeling the heat by the time we had ridden around Harbourneford and up to Bloody Pool.

The rhododendrons along the path from Shipley Bridge to the reservoir were beginning to grow back at last following their heavy pruning last year. When we got to the reservoir we sat down to enjoy the scenery and Michael was asked by another visitor to work out the distance back to Shipley: it turned out to be 1.8 miles, which was perhaps surprising.

We followed the moorland path behind the reservoir, passing, unusually, a family who were fishing in the lake. Joining the Abbots Way we pushed to the top of the hill where the views across South Devon opened up before us. This was a new experience for Jude, and there was no doubt that he thoroughly enjoyed the long moorland downhill to Cross Furzes despite the final section being somewhat overgrown with gorse.

We got home as planned by 1.30.

Gavin joined us this evening for what turned out to be ride of revelations for Michael. While riding on the lane to Barkingdon Gavin suggested that we had just passed under a cherry tree that was loaded with cherries. Now Michael, who hadn’t seen a real cherry until he was in his twenties and even that was only on a tour to Norway, had no idea that cherries grew wild in the UK. To discover real cherries on a road he has ridden hundreds of times made him think he had just transferred to a parallel universe.

Most of the cherries were way too high for us to reach, but we managed to pull down one of the lower branches and got quite a feast from it before pressing on to Broadhempston. Here there was some new equipment in the play park that provided some entertainment and photo opportunities.

Returning home via Ron Greet we passed a cultivated cherry tree loaded with red cherries and another wild cherry, as if to make certain Michael had caught up with reality.

Being a rather warm evening we decided to head for water by way of Pennywell Farm and Rattery. Crossing the main Totnes to Avonwick road near Blue Post we took the right turn at Kerswell Cross and then doubled back at Avonwick to a place near Beneknowle where there is easy access to the river.

It was cool and shady by the Avon and we spent a quarter of an hour having fun with sticks and stones. For our return home we followed the lane route to South Brent and then the old road through Harbourneford, with Michael spending much of the time wondering why he couldn’t get access to Google Maps. As he still couldn’t access it at home he presumed the service was temporarily offline.

As George’s birthday was on Monday we let him choose the destination for today’s ride, and that turned out to be the Exeter Ship Canal, or more precisely the Pizza Hut at the end of it. We took two cars to Starcross and then rode past the Powderham estate, where they were clearing up after Thursday’s Bryan Adams concert. The new cycle bridge over the railway brought us quickly down to the very smooth cycle path, which was perfect in every way other than offering a view of the Exe estuary that we had come to see. Several unfriendly signs instructed us not to cycle on top of the bank, which is of course where the view was, and as there were several people walking up there we dutifully followed the instructions.

From the Turf Lock hotel the cycle path again continued out of sight of the canal, but this time there were no unfriendly signs and few pedestrians, so we rode part of the canal path. We were rewarded by the sight of a swan and cygnets who seemed unperturbed by our presence.

Exeter quayside was bustling with people as usual, but out path was diverted as a result of some works on the path near Exe Bridges. It wasn’t far to Pizza Hut, however, and as it was quiet in there today we were soon tucking in to some very tasty pizzas.

After a ride around the park and back along the Exe past the weir we stopped at Exeter Quay to watch the Butts Ferry carrying people across the river for 40p a time. The journey was so short that the ferry didn’t have a motor – the ferryman pulled the boat across by holding on to a cable that was stretched across the river. Quite why anybody would want to pay for the ferry when they could walk a few hundred metres and cross the footbridge we couldn’t understand, but counting the crossings while we were there he seemed to be making a fat profit.

Next stop was the Welcome café, now under new ownership but still serving the same good range of cakes and drinks. As it was rather hot we sat in the outdoor seating at the back and were impressed by the size of the three small cakes deal for just £2.

The ride back along the canal to Starcross was a little more interesting for Michael who was able to ride on a section of the “high bank” as there were no pedestrians around. We got back to the car by around 4pm at the end of a very enjoyable day, finally getting home for around 4.45.

Just seconds after John arrived at the start he realised his tyre was flat. He had taken the bike for a service a while ago, been advised that his tyre was worn out but decided to wait a little longer to get the last few miles out of it. Now a hole had opened up in the side wall and the tube inside had punctured as a result, so home he went to fit the new tyre and tube that had been waiting there for a few weeks.

When we eventually set off just before 11 we followed the old road to Ashburton, then the path along the A38 to Bickington and the Liverton road to Heathfield. We had to negotiate three separate crossings to get around the new roundabout, but we had soon entered Stover Country Park, our first destination for the ride.

The Park isn’t that big, but there are some interesting paths running alongside Stover Lake that kept us amused for half an hour or so. After joining the Teigngrace road we followed the new Stover Canal path from Ventiford all the way to Newton Abbot, then headed into the main street for an enjoyable lunch at Costa.

We wanted to get home before 3.30pm but we weren’t going to take the main road all the way to achieve that, so we rode home on the easy lane route through East Ogwell, Denbury and Broadhempston, getting back for 3.36.